Written Answers Thursday 11 September 2008

Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that one of the functions of good agricultural and environmental condition standards is to prevent environmental deterioration on farmed land.

Richard Lochhead: Yes. Amongst the measures which comprise good agricultural and environmental condition are several relating to a minimum level of maintenance. These include protecting rough grazings and other semi-natural areas, protecting field boundaries and designated historic features, and avoiding the deterioration of non-productive landscape features such as shelter belts, copses and ponds.

Antisocial Behaviour

John Lamont (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many antisocial behaviour orders for children under-16 have been applied for by registered social landlords and subsequently granted in each year since their introduction, broken down by local authority area.

Fergus Ewing: This information is not held centrally.

Antisocial Behaviour

John Lamont (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many antisocial behaviour orders for children under-16 have been applied for by local authorities and subsequently granted in each year since their introduction, broken down by local authority area.

Fergus Ewing: Statistics on the number of antisocial behaviour orders for children under-16 granted between 1 October 2004 and 31 March 2008, by local authority area, can be found on our website at:

  www.antisocialbehaviourscotland.com.

  Information on the number of cases considered between 1 October 2004 and 31 March 2006 can be found in the report Use of Antisocial Behaviour Orders in Scotland, laid before the Parliament on 20 September 2007. Copies are available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 43671).

  Information on the number of cases applied for, broken down by local authority area, is not held centrally.

Antisocial Behaviour

John Lamont (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many interim antisocial behaviour orders have been applied for by registered social landlords and subsequently granted in each year since their introduction, broken down by local authority area.

Fergus Ewing: I have asked Karen Watt, Chief Executive of the Scottish Housing Regulator to respond. Her response is as follows:

  The following table details the number of interim antisocial behaviour orders (ASBO) that have been applied for by registered social landlords (RSLs) and subsequently granted in each year by local authority area since 2006-07. Prior to 2006-07 this data was not collected as part of the annual performance statistical return submitted by RSLs to Communities Scotland.

  Interim Antisocial Behaviour Orders

  

 Local Authority Area
 2006-07
 2007-08


 Applied
 Granted
 Applied
 Granted


 Aberdeen City
 2
 2
 1
 1


 Aberdeenshire
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Angus
 1
 1
 0
 1


 Argyll and Bute
 1
 1
 1
 0


 Clackmannanshire
 1
 1
 0
 0


 Dumfries and Galloway
 9
 6
 8
 5


 Dundee City
 4
 2
 0
 1


 East Ayrshire
 0
 0
 0
 0


 East Dunbartonshire
 0
 0
 0
 0


 East Lothian
 3
 3
 0
 0


 East Renfrewshire
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Edinburgh, City of
 3
 3
 1
 1


 Eilean Siar
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Falkirk
 1
 0
 0
 0


 Fife
 4
 3
 4
 1


 Glasgow
 9
 9
 5
 5


 Highland
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Inverclyde
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Midlothian
 1
 0
 0
 0


 Moray
 0
 0
 0
 0


 North Ayrshire
 0
 0
 0
 0


 North Lanarkshire
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Orkney Islands
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Perth and Kinross
 1
 1
 1
 0


 Renfrewshire
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Scottish Borders
 0
 0
 2
 5


 Shetland Islands
 0
 0
 0
 0


 South Ayrshire
 0
 0
 0
 0


 South Lanarkshire
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Stirling
 0
 0
 0
 0


 West Dunbartonshire
 0
 0
 1
 0


 West Lothian
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Total
 40
 32
 24
 20



  Source: Communities Scotland / Scottish Housing Regulator Annual Performance Statistical Returns.

Care Commission

David Whitton (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it received the internal report into the events at St Mary’s Kenmure, Bishopbriggs, on 29 and 30 March 2008.

Fergus Ewing: A summary of the internal inquiry report was provided to the Scottish Government at the end of July 2008.

Care Commission

David Whitton (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action was taken to implement the recommendations contained in the report into the events at St Mary’s Kenmure, Bishopbriggs, on 29 and 30 March 2008.

Fergus Ewing: The report of the inspection undertaken by the Care Commission prior to the reopening of St Mary’s Kenmure contains information on the range of measures taken to address issues raised by the events of 29 and 30 March 2008. This report is available on the Care Commission website ( www.carecommission.com ). It is the responsibility of the board of managers to implement the recommendations contained in the inspection report and for the Care Commission to monitor progress.

Care Commission

David Whitton (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken by the Justice Directorate to ensure that staffing levels at St Mary’s Kenmure, Bishopbriggs, follow Care Commission guidelines.

Fergus Ewing: The staffing levels at St Mary’s Kenmure are agreed between the Care Commission and the board of managers of St Mary’s Kenmure and are monitored as part of inspections. The Care Commission has statutory powers which can be deployed where necessary to deal with services that do not meet requirements. In this case, the Care Commission has worked with the senior staff and the board of managers of St Mary’s Kenmure to address the issues and will continue to monitor the position closely.

Care Commission

David Whitton (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken against the board of St Mary’s Kenmure, Bishopbriggs, for failing to ensure Care Commission guidelines on staffing levels are maintained at all times.

Fergus Ewing: The Care Commission is responsible for the regulation of care services. It has statutory powers which can be deployed where necessary to deal with services that do not meet requirements. In this case, the Care Commission has worked with the senior staff and the board of managers of St Mary’s Kenmure to address the issues and will continue to monitor the position closely.

Care Commission

David Whitton (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken by the Justice Directorate to investigate the high levels of staff absence through injury and stress at St Mary’s Kenmure, Bishopbriggs.

Fergus Ewing: The Care Commission is responsible for the regulation of care services which includes staffing levels. The board of managers of St Mary’s Kenmure are working with the Care Commission to ensure that the staffing complement and the deployment of staff is strengthened. Compliance with the agreed staffing schedule will be monitored by the Care Commission during inspections.

Carers

Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what contact it has had with Her Majesty’s Government to discuss improvements to the support available to kinship carers.

Adam Ingram: There is regular discussion between officials of the Scottish Government and of the UK Government on improvements to the UK benefits and welfare system for all families with children. Specific support for kinship carers is raised as part of these discussions, whenever appropriate.

  These matters are also raised regularly at relevant meetings between Scottish and UK Ministers. The most recent meeting was with the UK Government’s Minister for Children, Ms Beverley Hughes, on 15 July 2008.

Central Heating Programme

Stuart McMillan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many households per local authority area have received assistance under its central heating programme in each of the last five years.

Stewart Maxwell: In the private sector, information is not held by local authority area, but by main postcode. The annual installation rate, covering the period 2004-05 until end August 2008, for the main postcode areas are shown in the following table.

  

 Postcode Area
 2004-05
 2005-06
 2006-07
 2007-08
 2008-09
 Cumulative


 AB
 913
 935
 581
 983
 458
 3,870


 DD
 703
 588
 537
 892
 249
 2,969


 DG
 599
 586
 335
 459
 198
 2,177


 EH
 1,708
 1,482
 1,136
 1,694
 807
 6,827


 FK
 489
 503
 418
 675
 353
 2,438


 G
 3,409
 4,067
 3,194
 3,987
 1,745
 16,402


 HS
 348
 317
 224
 103
 33
 1,025


 IV
 590
 533
 306
 406
 190
 2,025


 KA
 808
 1,100
 802
 1,248
 530
 4,488


 KW
 333
 322
 66
 109
 41
 871


 KY
 539
 667
 529
 884
 375
 2,994


 ML
 712
 1,007
 883
 1,301
 546
 4,449


 PA
 961
 1,186
 771
 1,046
 483
 4,447


 PH
 375
 361
 214
 343
 162
 1,445


 TD
 427
 286
 184
 219
 86
 1,202


 ZE
 108
 113
 58
 22
 6
 307


 Total
 13,022
 14,053
 10,238
 14,371
 6,262
 57,946



  Notes:

  1. The managing agent contract transferred from Eaga Partnership to Scottish Gas during 2006-07, so the figure for 2006-07 includes installations undertaken by both.

  2. The figure for 2007-08 includes 168 installations undertaken in the private sector by local authorities, in addition to those undertaken by Scottish Gas.

  In the public sector the programme ended for local authorities in March 2004 and, therefore, no installations were undertaken by local authorities in 2004-05.

  With the exception of Glasgow Housing Association (GHA), the programme for housing associations ended in December 2004. Therefore, the information provided covers 2004-05, the final year the programme was in place for housing associations, and is shown in the following table:

  

 Local Authority Area
 2004-05


 Aberdeen City
 1


 City of Edinburgh
 121


 Glasgow City
 388


 Renfrewshire
 1


 Total
 511



  For GHA, the programme ended in March 2007. Therefore, the information provided covers the period 2004-05 until 2006-07 and is shown in the following table.

  

 Local Authority Area
 2004-05
 2005-06
 2006-07
 Cumulative


 Glasgow City
 1,674
 1,949
 4,156
 7,779

Child Care

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much money was allocated for child care for full-time students in (a) 2006, (b) 2007 and (c) 2008.

Fiona Hyslop: The further education child care allocations for 2006, 2007 and 2008 are as follows:

  Academic Year 2006-07 - £6.9 million

  Academic Year 2007-08 - £7.1 million

  Academic Year 2008-09 - £8.3 million.

  The higher education (discretionary) child care funds for the same period are:

  Academic Year 2006-07 - £4,350,000

  Academic Year 2007-08 - £4,451,355

  Academic Year 2008-09 - £4,562,639.

Child Care

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what priority it places on ensuring that full-time students receive support for child care.

Fiona Hyslop: All eligible full-time students can apply for tuition fee support for full-time further and higher education (HE) courses as well as a means tested loan and/or young students’ bursary for HE students and means tested grants for further education (FE) students.

  However the Scottish Government recognises that some students have additional financial barriers as a result of their personal circumstances.

  Therefore, an eligible full-time HE student can receive additional support from the Loan Parents Grant and Loan Parents Childcare Grant. For the current academic year, eligible students can claim Lone Parents Grant of £1,270 per year and up to £1,185 per year towards formal childcare costs.

  All students with dependants who are facing additional financial difficulty can also access the further or higher education childcare funds, which institutions administer as part of the discretionary funds. We have allocated £4,562,639 to the higher education discretionary child care fund for the current academic year and child care costs can also be paid from the general discretionary fund if institutions consider it appropriate. The FE child care allocation for the current academic year is £8.3 million and FE institutions can also use their bursary funds to supplement their child care fund once the child care fund has been fully committed.

Class Sizes

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many single outcome agreements signed by Scottish ministers state that all primary 1 to 3 classes will have fewer than 18 pupils by 2011.

Fiona Hyslop: It was not necessary for local authorities to include references to class size reduction in primary 1 to primary 3 in their Single Outcome agreements. Under the terms of the concordat local government has undertaken to make year on year progress on class size reduction in primary 1 to primary 3.

Climate Change

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has decided to set statutory interim targets for greenhouse gas emissions over the period to 2011.

Stewart Stevenson: The content of the forthcoming Scottish Climate Change Bill is currently under consideration. The consultation on the proposals for the bill considered the scope of the 2050 target and possible interim targets.

Community Service Orders

Jim Hume (South of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that community sentences are seen as effective and sufficiently severe and have the capacity to punish offenders as soon as they are sentenced, avoiding any delays in their discharge.

Kenny MacAskill: Following publication in November 2007 of the Report of the Review of Community Penalties work has been taken forward in partnership between the Scottish Government and local authorities to delivery improvements to the immediacy and speed of completion of community service orders.

  Local authority criminal justice social work teams operate against the framework of national standards, which are currently being reviewed. We seek to issue jointly agreed guidance by the end of the year to ensure that offenders do not leave court without being given a copy of their order and reporting instructions and that most work placements commence within seven days of imposition of the order.

  We will build on this work in our publication of the Scottish Government’s plans for a coherent penal policy, which will issue before the end of 2008.

Concessionary Travel

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-13288 by Stewart Stevenson on 3 June 2008, whether it will provide an update on its position on eligibility criteria for the Scotland-wide free bus travel scheme for older and disabled people.

Stewart Stevenson: The evaluation of the national concessionary travel scheme in Scotland is on-going. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth has already announced, on 4 July 2008, that the current eligibility criteria will be maintained. We will report back in due course.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for a fully transparent complaints procedure against the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service for members of the public.

Frank Mulholland QC: The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) have a Customer Feedback Policy which has been in place for several years.

  This policy currently involves a three stage process. The first stage involves the complaint being handled speedily by a manager in the Procurator Fiscal office or division where the complaint originated. If the complainant is dissatisfied with the terms of the response to their complaint, they can ask the Area Procurator Fiscal or respective Division Head to review their case.

  The Area Procurator Fiscal or Division Head will review the case and provide a further response. If the complainant remains dissatisfied with the terms of this response, they can ask the Crown Agent, Head of COPFS for a further review.

  If the complainant remains dissatisfied then this matter can be taken up with the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.

  The Ombudsman has a statutory remit which includes the power to investigate alleged maladministration. The Ombudsman has no role in relation to examining how and why legal decisions were taken, but does have a role in examining how COPFS handled a complaint. It is for the Ombudsman to decide whether the complaint has grounds that require to be investigated.

  The full policy can be found on the Crown Office website at:

  http://www.copfs.gov.uk/Contacts/CustFeePol.

Culture

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many works of art in the national collections were on display on 1 July 2008.

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many works of art in the national collections were in storage on 1 July 2008.

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many works of art currently on loan to the national collections are (a) on display and (b) in storage.

Linda Fabiani: This is a matter for the National Museums of Scotland, National Galleries of Scotland and National Library of Scotland. The information requested is not held centrally. I have asked the chief executives of the three bodies to respond directly.

Culture

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many owners of art currently on loan to the national collections have discussed the circumstances of their return with National Galleries of Scotland.

Linda Fabiani: This is a matter for the National Galleries of Scotland. The information requested is not held centrally. I have asked the chief executive of the National Galleries to respond directly.

Culture

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any owners of art currently on loan to the national collections have suggested that National Galleries of Scotland should purchase any of these works.

Linda Fabiani: Discussions between lenders and the National Galleries of Scotland are an operational matter for the National Galleries. The information is not held centrally. I have asked the chief executive of the National Galleries to respond directly.

Culture

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what opportunities the Parliament will have between now and April 2009 to influence the remit and funding of Creative Scotland.

Linda Fabiani: The Parliament will be able to scrutinise the financial memorandum of the Public Services Reform Bill which will include the transition costs for establishing Creative Scotland and Stage 2 of the bill process will allow the Parliament to comment on the remit of the body.

Culture

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all sections of the Creative Scotland Bill will reappear in the Public Services Reform Bill.

Linda Fabiani: The Parliament voted in principle for establishing Creative Scotland. We intend to bring forward as part of the Scottish Public Services Reform Bill measures to establish Creative Scotland as a statutory body on the same basis as the measures that were set out in the Creative Scotland Bill.

Culture

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the latest estimates it has received about the costs of establishing Creative Scotland.

Linda Fabiani: The Scottish Government is currently considering a paper from the joint board on potential transition costs. The transition costs will be public when they are submitted to the Parliament through the Public Services Reform Bill’s Financial Memorandum.

Culture

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will make a decision about the location of Creative Scotland.

Linda Fabiani: Ministers are considering the report from the joint board of the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen and will respond to the joint board on this in due course.

Culture

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has powers to ensure that art works currently on public display can be retained.

Linda Fabiani: The National Institutions have very limited powers of disposal with regard to the objects in the National Collections. The exercise of these powers is a matter for the Board of Trustees of each of the National Institutions. Objects on loan to the National Collections are subject to specific loan agreements between the owners and the National Institutions. The Scottish Government does not have powers to override these loan agreements.

Education

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the number of school children with an assessed additional support need is growing year on year.

Maureen Watt: The number of children with a co-ordinated support plan, an individualised educational programme and/or with provision levels set with a record of needs pre-dating the implementation of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 in mainstream schools, primary and secondary 2002-07 and the number of pupils based in publicly funded special schools 2002-07 can be obtained from chart 2 and table 8.2, respectively, of the 2007 pupil census, available on the Scottish Government’s website at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/07/28100032/0.

  However, the term additional support needs applies to children and young people who, for whatever reason, require additional support, long or short-term, in order to help them to make the most of their school education. Therefore, it is not possible to estimate accurately the number of pupils with additional support needs at any given time.

Education

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the review of the Scottish Survey of Achievement commenced; what this review encompasses, and when it will report.

Maureen Watt: Arrangements for the Scottish Survey of Achievement are being reviewed along with ongoing development of assessment arrangements to ensure that the scope and design of the survey is such that it provides a robust source of evidence on achievement within Curriculum for Excellence. There are no plans for a formal report.

Electricity

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of savings are expected to come from the economies of scale of the contract currently out for tender for the supply of electricity to the public sector.

Jim Mather: The likely savings arising from the contract will reflect the Scottish public sector working collaboratively within the framework of the procurement reform agenda. The estimated £5 million savings per annum will therefore be a direct result of combining public sector demand.

Enterprise

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to make available further financial resources to existing Scottish Business Improvement District (BID) companies, such as the Enterprising Bathgate BID Company, to improve their viability and sustainability over the longer term.

John Swinney: The underlying philosophy of Business Improvement Districts is that they are self-sustaining. The BID levy is intended to ensure each BID Company has a stable and viable financial base. But it is open to them to supplement this in other ways and I understand that the Enterprising Bathgate BID Company is already succeeding in doing so.

Environmental Health

Ian McKee (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria are employed to determine whether water supplied at slaughter houses for the purpose of cleaning vehicles used for the transport of cattle is adequate for purpose.

Richard Lochhead: I am advised by the Food Standards Agency that the EU Food Hygiene Regulations require approved slaughterhouses to have onsite facilities for cleaning livestock vehicles unless those facilities exist near by. The water used in those approved slaughterhouses for the production of meat whether from public mains or private supply (boreholes, springs…) must be of potable quality (i.e. fit for human consumption) and meet the chemical and microbiological criteria set out in Directive 98/83/EC. There are some exceptions, but only for purposes such as fire control, or inside refrigeration systems.

External Relations

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scotland Village will be used in Scotland Week 2009 and, if so, for what purpose.

Linda Fabiani: The Scotland Village was featured within Grand Central Station between 2005-07, but did not feature during Scotland Week 2008. The Scottish Government have no plans for the Scotland Village to be replicated during Scotland Week 2009.

External Relations

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to develop Scotland Week in any other countries around the world.

Linda Fabiani: The Scottish Government is actively considering opportunities to promote Scotland as a great place to live, learn, visit and do business. Homecoming Scotland 2009 will take that message to Scots and those who love Scotland overseas throughout the next year. Ministers will continue to examine the benefits of concerted, cross-sectoral promotion of Scotland on a case-by-case basis.

Finance

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail all funding applications since May 2007 that were agreed in principle by the First Minister and subsequently agreed by officials.

John Swinney: The information sought could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Flood Prevention

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what lead it has given to Scottish Water and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to work together on upstream flood management.

Michael Russell: The Scottish Government encourages the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and Scottish Water to work cooperatively with others involved in flood management. We intend to introduce a bill which seeks to establish a framework of duties to ensure that flood management planning is coordinated across a catchment.

Flood Prevention

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many farmers are supported financially in providing flood management.

Michael Russell: Under the new rural priorities element of the Scotland rural development programme it is possible for farmers and other land managers to apply for funding to carry out activities contributing to flood management. However, at the first assessment round no proposals were approved which address this specific outcome.

Flood Prevention

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total spending is on support for farmers engaged in flood management.

Michael Russell: Under the new rural priorities element of the Scotland rural development programme it is possible for farmers and other land managers to apply for funding to carry out activities contributing to flood management. However, at the first assessment round no proposals were approved which address this specific outcome.

Flood Prevention

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the number of farmers involved in flood management schemes.

Michael Russell: We will introduce a bill to establish a framework within which local authorities can involve stakeholders, including farmers, in managing flood risk.

Freight

Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how it is encouraging the transport of freight by rail and sea rather than road.

Stewart Stevenson: We operate three freight grant schemes all of which encourage the transport of freight by rail or water rather than road. These are the Freight Facilities, Waterborne Freight and Rail Environmental Benefits Procurement Grant schemes. Our budget of £14.9 million in 2008-09 for support to the freight industry demonstrates our determination to promote the shift of freight from our roads.

Further Education

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the directory of further education provision for students with profound and complex needs will be published.

Fiona Hyslop: The 2008 survey of provision in Scotland’s colleges for learners with profound and complex needs was published on 8 August 2008 and can be accessed via:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Education/Funding-Support-Grants/FFL/ComplexNeeds.

  The report included in appendix 1 a table of provision of courses in Scotland’s colleges that are suitable for students with profound and complex needs.

  The report contains a number of recommendations, including a question about the development of an online directory of provision, which I have asked my officials in the Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council to consider. This will involve further consultation with the report’s authors, college sector and with other relevant agencies and partners including COSLA. I hope to be able to provide a progress report on how all the relevant parties will improve the further education opportunities in Scotland for students with complex needs by early in the new year.

Further Education

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it intends to take to increase provision for students with profound and complex needs studying in further education.

Fiona Hyslop: The funding of Scotland’s colleges is the responsibility of the Scottish Funding Council (SFC). It is for the colleges themselves to determine the learning activity which is offered to students and potential students and which best meets the needs of local communities and businesses.

  The Scottish Government continues to encourage further and higher education institutions to offer flexible provision which responds to the needs of the learner while continuing to offer a high quality and relevant learning experience. We recognise that colleges are continuing to work towards becoming more inclusive for all students including those with complex needs.

  Institutions have a statutory duty under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (as amended in 2005) to publish their disability equality schemes. Within many of these published schemes institutions have stated that they are aiming to provide inclusive learning environments and accessible curriculum for disabled students.

  The Scottish Government recognises that there are additional barriers to accessing further education for people with complex needs which is why we and the SFC commissioned the BRITE Initiative to undertaking a survey of provision for these students in Scotland’s colleges. Officials in the Scottish Government and the SFC are currently considering all of the report’s recommendations for improving further education opportunities in Scotland for people with complex needs in consultation with all relevant parties including COSLA and Scotland’s colleges.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the prescribing of antibiotics was monitored at the Vale of Leven Hospital between December 2007 and June 2008, and, if so, how this was undertaken.

Nicola Sturgeon: As noted in the independent review team report no routine monitoring was undertaken within the dates requested.

  Guidance on Prudent Antimicrobial Prescribing: The Scottish Action Plan for Managing Antibiotic Resistance and Reducing Antibiotic Related Clostridium Difficile Associated Disease was issued under cover of CEL30(2008) on 8 July 2008. This guidance recommends that all NHS boards should immediately establish an antimicrobial management team (AMT) which should cover primary and secondary care prescribing activities. A key role for the AMT Board is the implementation and compliance monitoring of a local antimicrobial policy.

Housing

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will consider a review of legislation on park homes.

Stewart Maxwell: We are completing consideration of research which was commissioned to provide an accurate picture of residential park and mobile homes in Scotland. This comprehensive study considered the extent to which any problems identified are addressed by the existing legislation, including Part 6 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 which introduced new protections for park home residents from May 2007. We expect to establish a programme of work soon to address some of the important issues identified. This is likely to include measures in relation to site management and conditions, residents’ rights and the provision of better factual information about the sector.

  In the meantime, Scottish Government officials are continuing to work as necessary with local authorities to ensure improvements for residents of park and mobile homes within the existing legislative framework.

Justice

John Lamont (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many restriction of liberty orders for children under-16 have been (a) applied for and (b) granted in each year since their introduction, broken down by local authority area.

Kenny MacAskill: A total of six restriction of liberty orders (RLOs) have been made in relation to young people under the age of 16 since provisions extending the use of RLOs in such cases came into force in April 2005. Applications are not made for such orders; they are a sentence imposed by the court.

  The information held is broken down by Sheriff Court. We do not have the information broken down in local authority area.

  2005:

  One RLO imposed by Glasgow Sheriff Court.

  2006:

  One RLO imposed by Dundee Sheriff Court;

  One RLO imposed by Glasgow Sheriff Court;

  One RLO imposed by Kilmarnock Sheriff Court, and

  One RLO imposed by Hamilton Sheriff Court.

  2007:

  One RLO imposed by Dundee Sheriff Court.

Local Authorities

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish its single outcome agreements with the 32 individual councils in Scotland or make them available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

John Swinney: Copies of all 32 single outcome agreements which were agreed with local authorities on 30 June 2008 can be obtained via the Improvement Service website by the following link:

  http://www.improvementservice.org.uk/component/option,com_docman/Itemid,43/task,cat_view/gid,561/.

Local Government Finance

Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the feasibility study by Aberdeenshire Council, whether it will provide the council with funding of £8.9 million to stabilise the Bervie Braes in Stonehaven.

John Swinney: If and when Aberdeenshire Council makes an approach to the Scottish Government, we will consider the case on its merits.

NHS Hospitals

Jackson Carlaw (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-10960 by Nicola Sturgeon on 9 April 2008, what the findings are of the NHS board reports into hospital parking charges scheduled to be with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing by 30 June 2008.

Nicola Sturgeon: As a result of my consideration of the NHS board reports, which indicated that NHS boards were meeting the requirements of the guidance issued in January 2008, I announced on 2 September 2008 that car park charges at NHS health care sites would end with effect from 31 December 2008. Although that does not apply to those car parks provided through PFI contracts, such as at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, I have instructed NHS boards to enter into discussions with their PFI provider to explore the opportunities to reduce charges until those contracts come to an end.

NHS Hospitals

Jackson Carlaw (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many acute hospital beds there were in each year since 1997, also broken down by (a) NHS board area and (b) acute hospital.

Nicola Sturgeon: Numbers of average available acute staffed beds for each NHS board and hospital in Scotland for years ending 31 March 1998 to 2008 are available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 46520).

  NHS board level information is also available in published tables from the ISD website:

  http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/3426.html.

NHS Hospitals

Angela Constance (Livingston) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many beds are available for patients awaiting a liver transplant at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh in (a) the Scottish Liver Transplant Unit and (b) other wards.

Nicola Sturgeon: There are 18 beds in the Transplant Unit and five in the High Dependency Unit.

NHS Hospitals

Angela Constance (Livingston) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial resources have been invested in the Scottish Liver Transplant Unit at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh since 1999.

Nicola Sturgeon: A total of £43.1 million has been invested in the Scottish Liver Transplant Unit over the last 10 years, covering liver transplants from deceased donors, the living donor liver programme, the transplant co-ordinators linked to the unit, the Scottish organ retrieval team and the closely-related work on pancreatic transplantation.

Police

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Strathclyde Police will be able to meet the target number of additional police officers if the Scottish Government does not make funding available to cover the £29 million shortfall in pensions cost for 2009-10.

Kenny MacAskill: Decisions on the recruitment of police officers are matters for the Chief Constable and the Strathclyde Joint Police Board. The Scottish government is investing £94 million to centrally the fund the recruitment of 1,000 extra police officers by 2011 and Strathclyde Police will receive its appropriate share of that funding.

Post Offices

Kenneth Gibson (Cunninghame North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to support the post office network in Scotland.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government recognises the valuable social role of post offices, particularly in deprived and remote areas of Scotland, and although post offices and postal services are a matter wholly reserved to the UK Government, Scottish ministers therefore continue to play an active role in seeking the best outcomes within the current closure programme.

  Since the announcement of the post office network closure programme last May, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth has maintained an active discussion with Post Office Ltd to ensure that their restructuring programme promotes transparency and open discussion of the issues with key stakeholders. He has also encouraged all MSPs and local authorities to carefully examine Post Office Ltd’s proposals to ensure that the interests of the public, particularly vulnerable groups, have been properly taken into account.

  The Cabinet Secretary has in addition met Royal Mail Group to promote awareness of potential business opportunities, providing a close fit with the Scottish Government’s agenda to streamline and improve public services, as well as encouraging local authorities to consider opportunities to promote services alongside local post offices to aid their viability.

Public Transport

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussion it has had with FirstGroup about proposed fares increases in Aberdeen.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government has had no discussions with FirstGroup about proposed fare increases in Aberdeen.

Renewable Energy

Christina McKelvie (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made towards meeting its targets on renewable energy.

Jim Mather: Good progress has been made. Since May last year the Scottish Government has consented 13 large scale renewable energy projects. We are on course to meet our target of generating 31% of Scottish electricity demand from renewables by 2011.

  This target equates to around 5 GigaWatts of installed capacity. Currently, the capacity of projects operating and with consent is around 5.5 GigaWatts. Most of these consented projects will be operating by 2011, and there is still time for more to be consented and constructed before 2011.

  We are also confident of achieving our target of generating 50% of our electricity from renewables by 2020.

Schools

Christina McKelvie (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken following the publication of the Audit Scotland report, Improving the school estate .

Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government has discussed this report with COSLA as most of the recommendations were addressed to local authorities, or jointly to the Scottish Government and local authorities. We accept the recommendations of the report in full. A joint Scottish Government and COSLA working group, including representation from the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland, has been established to consider how the actions recommended in the report should best be taken forward. Discussions regarding future policy, funding and delivery have already commenced, with the intention of publishing a new school estate strategy by spring 2009.

  Copies of the Audit Scotland report are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 45152).

Small Businesses

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will provide full statistics on the take-up of the small business bonus scheme.

John Swinney: Based on returns from local authorities, we will be in a position to estimate the take-up of the Small Business Bonus Scheme by the end of this calendar year.

Sport

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions ministers have had with sport governing bodies about the First Minister’s suggestion for a Scottish Olympic team and what the responses have been.

Stewart Maxwell: On 23 August 2007 the Scottish Government convened a meeting with stakeholders to discuss Scottish representation on the international sporting stage and consider the feasibility of a Scottish Olympic team. A summary of the summit can be found at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/932/0053304.pdf.

Wildlife

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many arrests have been made for illegal snaring in the last year.

Michael Russell: As far as we are aware there have been no arrests made for illegal snaring in the last year. It would be unusual for police to arrest a suspect for such an offence.

Wildlife

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions there have been for illegal snaring in the last year.

Michael Russell: According to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s case management database four charges for snaring offences were prosecuted within the last year.

Young People

Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance it is providing for youth organisations to promote positive lifestyles and encourage personal growth and good citizenship among young people.

Adam Ingram: The Scottish Government provides approximately £3.5 million of funding annually to over 30 national youth work organisations. They provide a wide range of support to promote positive lifestyles and encourage personal growth and good citizenship among young people.

  We also provide assistance through the development of national policy on youth issues. Initiatives such as the Volunteering Action plan and the Youth Achievement Awards support Scotland’s young people to be successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors.